This invention relates generally to a jewelry holding device, and more particularly to a device for holding, carrying and displaying earrings for pierced ears.
Earrings for pierced ears are, perhaps, the more popular form of earrings worn currently, typically by women. Such earrings include an exposed ornamental setting which may include a precious stone or metal and having a post or thin elongated shaft extending therefrom. This post is inserted through a previously pierced hole in the ear lobe and, thereafter held in position in the ear by a retainer which is slid onto the post behind the ear lobe. Most individuals who wear jewelry of this nature gradually acquire a collection of different styles and types and then require a container into which to store the collection at home and to transport the jewelry such as while on vacation.
Most conventional jewelry containers available simply provide a cavity, drawer, or box into which the jewelry may be placed, whereupon finding a matching set, along with the associated retainers or viewing the array of earrings in the collection is made quite difficult.
A number of prior art devices are known to applicant which are intended to at least partially overcome these problems. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,084 to Whelan which discloses a jewelry holding device having at least two frames with a rigid sheet mounted in each of the frames, each sheet having apertures for receiving the earrings. The sheet is relatively thin (a thickness generally equal to the thickness of an ear lobe and intended to merely receive the post of the earrings through the apertures provided to be retained thusly by the retainer attached to the post from the opposite or back side.
Another such jewelry holding device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,458 to LaBate wherein earrings for pierced ears are held in place by the insertion of the post through a mesh fabric which is held taught within a frame. Retainers are then required to hold the earring in place.
Several other less pertinent prior art inventions are known to applicant, including the jewelry display tray and security system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,041 to Waitzman, the display tray with reversible inserts disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,568 to Elsfelder, and the portable display case for timepieces and the like disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,077 to Droz.
The present invention is directed to a jewelry holding, carrying and display device which facilitates retention and display of the decorative portion of a pierced earring by the embedding of the post into a relatively thick layer of rigid foam such as Styrofoam. The invention also provides a recessed area for the collection and retention of the separate retainers for pierced earrings. The invention includes various embodiments, including uniquely ornamental embodiments for use in both travel and display.